It’s been nearly three years since Decatur graduate Garet Rasmussen collapsed and died in his Wenatchee home. The 1992 graduate was just 38 years old.

Rasmussen, who was a command duty officer for Chelan County Fire District One and Douglas County Fire District Two, died suddenly after he had responded to an emergency call about a car cash in June 2011. The Chelan County coroner concluded that Rasmussen died from hypertension and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

During his high school days, Rasmussen was known as a basketball player at Decatur. He ranks as the 20th all-time scorer for the basketball-rich Gators, after averaging 10 points as a junior and 11.2 during his senior season. Rasmussen played a huge role in earning Decatur’s first-ever berth into the state basketball tournament in 1992.

Several of Rasmussen’s classmates from Decatur, including current Gator assistant basketball coach  Collin Sawyer, have organized the third annual Garet Rasmussen Night.

The celebration will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 inside the Decatur High School performaning arts/cafeteria. Refreshments will be provided, as well as the opportunity to share stories about Rasmussen and the Decatur community. The celebration will continue inside the school’s gym when the current Gators take on Bonney Lake in a key South Puget Sound League 3A game. To learn more, visit “3rd Annual Garet Rasmussen Night” on Facebook.

Rasmussen was born Jan. 5, 1973, and raised in Federal Way, where he went to elementary school and junior high, before graduating from Decatur in 1992.

Following his Decatur days, Rasmussen attended Skagit Valley Community College on a basketball scholarship before getting the firefighter itch.

His firefighting career began as a resident with the Chelan County Fire District #1 and started on May 1, 1996. Rasmussen was hired full-time six months later and worked his way up to captain for Chelan County and was the acting battalion chief at the time of his death.

Rasmussen married Allyson Annette Oden on Jan. 30, 2005, and the couple lived in the Wenatchee area and had two children, Jostin and Jalyn.

Rasmussen also enjoyed the outdoors, camping, taking the kids hiking to have picnics, hunting and fishing, according to his obituary. He loved playing basketball and watching Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fights on television.

According to a story in the Wenatchee World newspaper, an estimated 2,000 people came to honor Rasmussen during his funeral at the Town Toyota Center in June 2011.